Shares in Dr Martens dropped by over 12% after its group revenue in the third quarter fell by 2.7% year-on-year to £253m.

The shoe retailer said its revenue performance reflected the "challenging consumer environment" and its continued focus on improving its revenue by reducing clearance activity.

Dr Martens stated that it is taking a disciplined approach to promotions in direct to consumer (DTC), with the aim of increasing the full price mix. Its full price DTC revenue jumped by 2% in the year-to-date, with a strong performance in its Americas division.

The latest update comes after Dr Martens warned its full-year results will be hit by US import tariffs, which may lead it to increased prices.

The company said that it continues to make good progress with all four levers for growth and it on track with its strategic objectives for the 2026 financial year.

Chief executive officer at Dr Martens, Ije Nwokorie, described the current financial year as a "year of pivot", as it makes the necessary changes to the business to set it up for future sustainable growth.

He added: "I remain laser focused on executing our new strategy and we will deliver all four of our strategic objectives for FY26. We have continued to improve the quality of our revenue through a disciplined approach to promotions and this represents a headwind to overall revenue, particularly in Ecommerce.

"I am particularly pleased with the performance of our Americas business, with both retail and wholesale showing good growth as a result of the actions taken over the past year. The EMEA market continues to be challenging, with our DTC revenue performance impacted by both the market and our more disciplined promotional stance. We delivered a good wholesale performance, with growth broad-based across all three regions."

In its outlook, Dr Martens said it expects revenue on a constant basis to be broadly flat in the 2026 financial year.

Furthermore, the firm stated that its is comfortable with market expectations for its profit before tax in the full year of between £53m and £60m, which is set to result in "significant year-on-year" profit before tax growth.

Despite its positivity, investment director at AJ Bell, Russ, Mould, said that throughout its time as a public company, it has felt like it has had its “shoelaces tied together”, with the third quarter looking like another trip up.

He concluded: "Protecting the integrity of the brand rather than flogging its footwear on the cheap is a sensible long-term approach.

"However, Dr Martens has little credit in the bank with investors who, even in the context of the company’s strategy of putting price above volume, may be alarmed by the scale of the drop in European sales. The consumer backdrop may be tough but that alone is not enough to earn Dr Martens a free pass.

"If Dr Martens can genuinely deliver the promised ‘significant’ profit growth at the full-year stage then it may start to get some more credit from the market."

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